Borussia Dortmund's winter signing Ian Maatsen has been voted as the Bundesliga Rookie of the Month for January. The 22-year-old beat off competition from Leipzig's Xavi Simons and Maximilian Beier of TSG Hoffenheim.

The Dutchman, who joined BVB on loan from Chelsea in January, has won his first individual accolade after only five appearances in Black & Yellow: Maatsen has been in the starting line-up for all five Black & Yellow fixtures so far and the versatile left-footer has become the first BVB player to win the Rookie of the Month title this season thanks to his performances in the three matches in January against Darmstadt, Köln und Bochum. The Bundesliga awards this title every month together with Sorare, which is also a premium partner of Borussia Dortmund.

The vote is cast by the fans (40%), the club captains (30%) and selected Bundesliga experts (30%). All Bundesliga players who were under the age of 23, had never previously featured in the starting line-up and had not accumulated more than 450 minutes of game time at the time of Matchday 1 are eligible for selection.

At the end of the campaign, the Rookie of the Season is chosen from the monthly winners. Before Ian Maatsen, Leverkusen's Victor Boniface won the award four times between August and November, while Xavi Simons (Leipzig) picked up the accolade in December.